By Avery Owens | Staff Writer
Showcasing the works of apparel design, product development and apparel merchandising students, the annual spring Baylor Fashion Show will take place virtually this year. Plans for what the virtual experience will look like will soon be announced.
Houston junior Alex Merkelz and Houston senior Kaleigh Merriweather are the co-directors of the 2021 spring show.
“It’s a curated space for Baylor apparel students to show off their work,” Merkelz said.
Early in the event’s history, the fashion show was led by faculty and staff. Today, the students are in charge.
“In the past 3 to 4 years it’s been student run,” Merkelz said. “I think it’s better when the students are allowed to create a space for their counterparts to work within, and show their work.”
Merriweather said she and Merkelz produce the entire show by hand from top to bottom. As co-directors, the two are jointly involved in planning the event.
“We work together on a team to come up with ideas on what the setting is going to look like, layout, camera angles, overall theme [and] presentation styles,” Merkelz said.
The two are faced with something different this year though, how to get creative with the virtual format.
“The idea is to make it as personal as it can be in a space where you really don’t have any audience at all,” Merkelz said.
Merriweather said she hopes that the virtual experience can be relatable.
“We are trying to make sure that this is an experience because we can’t have people come and sit and watch,” Merriweather said. “We do want to be able to do something online where you can relate to it over your computer screen.”
Though the presentation of the show will be different for the first time in a while, the content is different every year.
“In my opinion, this is probably the most diverse group of designers that we’ve ever had,” Merriweather said. “It’s also the highest number of designers that we’ve ever had … The people are very talented, and their styles vary so much.”
In her role, Merriweather said she plans to accommodate each designer to the best of her ability, so the show is worthwhile for them.
“My main goal would be to help [the designers] present what they have done effectively, across all their different styles,” Merriweather said.
Dates and details are tentative, but expected to be sometime in late April. In case you’re eager to hear the announcement first, follow Baylor Fashion on Instagram.
